Means for sampling bulk material



April 4, 1961 Filed April 1, 1957 F. JORDISON MEANS FOR SAMPLING BULK MATERIAL 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 April 4, 1961 F. JORDISON 2,977,800

MEANS FOR SAMPLING BULK MATERIAL Filed April 1, 1957 3 SheetsSheet 2 lnve nor WW M L Mm A ttorneys April 1961 F. JORDISON 2,977,800

MEANS FOR SAMPLING BULK MATERIAL Fi.ed April 1, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Attorneys United States Patent MEANS FOR SAMPLING BULK MATERIAL Fred Jordison, Chester-le-Street, England, assignmto The Birmingham Small Arms Company Limited, Birmingham, England, a company of'Great Britain Filed Apr. 1, 1957, Ser. No. 649,762 Claims priority, application Great Britain Apr. 14, 1956 "6 Claims. (Cl. 73-423) This invention relates to means for sampling bulk material, whilst such material is falling in a stream.

It is frequently desired to take samples from a supply of bulk material, for example coal, and such samples are preferably representative of the whole. It is therefore convenient to take such samples whilst the material is falling in a stream. Preferably the samples are taken without disturbing the flow rate of the material, and are taken at a frequency and in quantity compatible with both the flow rate and the requirements.

According to the present invention, equipment for sampling bulk material as it falls in a stream, includes a sample container adapted to be moved at a controlled speed through the material stream, to collect as it passes through the stream a full cross-section of the material in the falling stream, and to discharge the material collected as sample.

The sample container may be caused to effect one or more sampling cycles each consisting of one or two passages through the material stream and discharge of the material collected therefrom.

The mouth of the-sample container is preferably of sufiicient breadth to accommodate the largest anticipated material particle. For example, the mouth of the container may be 2 /2 times the maximum anticipated particle size in breadth.

Means for moving the sample container through the stream may be arranged so as to deliver the sample taken to a point substantially above the collecting position, whereby material superflous to sampling requirements can be returned to the main stream by gravity.

The sample container may be mounted upon an arm or between a pair of arms, the arm or arms being constrained to be moved and guided to effect the desired motion of the sample container.

The arm or each arm may have a part engaging a guide way serving to transform linear movement applied to the said part into the desired motion.

The or each guideway may have two connected portions, the or each arm part being adapted to'move first linearly along one portion of the guideway, then arcuately about another portion of the guideway, the sample collecting occurring during the arcuate movement of the or each arm.

The or each said arm part may have linear movement applied to it by a hydraulic ram or rams, the associated hydraulic circuit for such rams including control means for controlling the movements of the rams.

The equipment is preferably arranged automatically to effect a cycle in cycles of operations, each cycle including two sampling strokes through the material stream, delivcry of the sample to a discharge position above the collecting position, and discharge of the contents of the sample container at the discharge position.

The discharged sample may conveniently be delivered to a crusher, which may deliver to a further or secondary samplersuch as is described in our application Serial No. 589,445.

ICE

In the accompanying more or less diagrammatic drawings Figure 1 is a fragmentary side view of sampling equipment,

Figure 2 is an end view in section on line IIII of Figure 1,

Figure 3 is a perspective view of a part of the said equipment, and

Figure 4 is a diagram of a hydraulic circuit for operation of the said equipment.

Referring to the drawings, in the construction shown therein, as applied byway of example to equipment for sampling coal as it is projected as indicated by the arrows A A A from the head-drum 2 of a conveyor 4 after being moved by the conveyor in the direction indicated by arrow A in Figure l, the head-drum 2, conveyor 4 and its supporting structure being shown in dot-and-dash lines in Figure l, the sampling equipment includes a framework 37 mounted on an extension 6 of the supporting structure for the head-drum 2 of the conveyor 4. The framework 37 supports a box-like structure 8 having an open bottom through which can project a pair of arms 13 (one of which is shown in Figure 1) disposed is spaced parallel relationship to one another and carrying between them at their lower ends a sample container 1. The arms 13 are each secured by a pin 18 to a pair of parallel plates 15 in which are journalled a pair of shafts 17, 19 respectively, each shaft 17 having a pair of flanged rollers 10 secured to it, and each shaft 19 having a pair of flanged rollers 12 secured to it, the rollers 10, 12 being disposed on the outer sides of the plates 15. The box-like structure. 8 supports rails 21 for the rollers 10, 12, there being two pairs of lower rails and two pairs of upper rails bent upwardly to form with rail portions 23 a parallel pair of branchings of the rails. The rails 21, 23 form part of an enclosure for each set of rollers, one wall of each enclosure being provided with a guide slot 14 accommodating and guiding a collar 16 providedon each pin 18. Each slot 14 is provided with an incline 20 which serves in combination with the weight of the arms 13 and scoop 1 acting with leverage about a fulcrum of the axis of the shaft 19, to cause the pairs of rollers 10 mounted on the shaft 17 to enter the branchings of the rails as the assembly of arms 13, plates 15 and rollers associated therewith is moved along the rails 21. It will be appreciated, therefore, that the resultant movement of thesample container 1 is more or less arcuate, as indicated ,by the dot-anddash arc in Figure l and that the arcuate path of the sample container 1 passes through the stream of coal indicated by the arrowsA A and A The arms 13 in their travel more angularly through about a right angle, and further movement of the arms subsequent to the said angular movement is linear in a direction parallel to the rails 21 as the plates 15 and rollers associated therewith move along that part 25 of the rails wherein the upper and lower rails are parallel. Movement of the arms 13, sample container 1, plates 15 and rollers associated there with is effected by means of a pair of hydraulic rams 27 having their respective ram rods 25 pivoted to the shafts 19 between the plates 15. The rams 27 are mounted on an end plate of the structure 8. V 7

Two pillars 22 interconnected at their upper ends and supported by the extension 6 themselves support a frame 24 having a chute 35 secured to it and down which the coal sample collected by the sample container 1 canbe delivered. The sample. container 1 has a mouth 39 (see Figure 3) for collecting its sample, and the containing part has one of its walls 11 pivoted at 9 so as to be openable, the wall .11 being retained in its closed position by a releasable catch 3 pivoted at 5 to the floor of the container 1. energising switch 31 which also serves to operate the The frame 24 carries a solenoidcatch 3 and release the wall 11 for discharging the contents of the container 1 at the appropriate moment. The chute 35 has in one wall a gap 33 through which the container 1 can pass, the edge of said wall serving to close the wall 11 as the container 1 is withdrawn from its discharge position.

The hydraulic system operating the rams 27 is shown diagrammatically in Figure 4. A pump 45 supplies hydraulic fluid from a tank 41 through a filter 43 under pressure to the rams 27, a direction-reversing valve 47 operated by a solenoid energised on operation of the switch 31 serving to determine the direction of movement imparted to the ram rods 25. Decelerator valves 49 are provided for each ram 27. Furthermore, a time switch operated valve 51 determines the frequency of operation of the rams, and can be set to the desired frequency.

The operation of the equipment is as follows. Assuming the arms 13 and sample container 1 to be at rest in the discharge position, the valve 51 is automatically operated on expiry of the desired time between cycles, and the reversing valve 47 having already been operated by contact of the catch 3 with the switch 31, hydraulic fluid under pressure is supplied to the rams 27, causing the rods 25 to be driven outwardly. The assembly of arms 13, sample container 1, plates 15 and the rollers associated therewith are thereby caused to move linearly down the rails 21, the wall 11 being closed by the chute edge, until the leading pairs of rollers reach the branchings, when the incline and the said leverage cause them to rise and move up the branchings, the arms 13 and sample container 1 then moving angularly about the axis of the shaft 19 so that the sample container 1 is moved through approximately a right angle, what was its floor (wall 11) becoming a side and its mouth 39 being moved into a position in which it is open to receive coal projected from the conveyor 4 as the container 1 passes through the coal stream. After passing through the said stream, the reversing valve is operated by a limit switch (not shown) contacted by the sample container 1 as it reaches the end of its arcuate movement, and the ram rods then move in the opposite direction and cause the sample container to again pass through the coal stream and again collect therefrom. Finally, the sample container moves linearly into the position indicated by the reference numeral 29 in Figure 1, and the switch 31 causes the catch 3 to be released and to free the wall 11 (which has again become the floor of the container) which opens by gravity and allows the collected coal to fall from the sample container 1 down the chute 35. The cycle is repeated on occurrence of the next operation of the time switch 51.

The rate of travel of the sample container 1 through the material stream can be varied by employing suitable valves in the hydraulic circuit, and thereby the amount of sample collected can be controlled.

In the sampling cycle hereinbefore described, the container makes two collections per sampling cycle. It can as an alternative be arranged for the container to make one collection only per sampling cycle, for example by causing the container to tilt, to prevent its collecting, as it passes in one direction through the material stream, or by causing it to be discharged after each single passage through the material stream.

The chute 35 may lead to a crusher delivering to a secondary sampler (for example as described in our application Serial No. 589,445, now abandoned).

I claim:

1. For sampling bulk material as it falls in a stream, apparatus comprising a pair of spaced arms, a sample container mounted on said arms, a guideway for a part of said arms, means for applying linear motion to said part of said arms for sequentially causing arcuate movement of said sample container through the material trolled movement along said guideway, power means stream for collection of material therefrom by said container and sequentially causing linear movement of said arms to dispose the container in discharge position, said guideway being formed for serving for controlling the path of said sample container by guiding said part of said arms, and means automatically operable at the end of said linear arm movement for effecting discharge from said container of said material collected as sample.

2. In the combination apparatus defined in claim 1, said guideway having consecutive angularly related portions with which said arms are slidably connected.

3. Apparatus for sampling bulk material as it falls in a stream comprising a support, a sample collecting container, at least one arm supporting the container at its lower end, a container arm control guideway on said support, said arm having an upper portion mounted for confor moving said arm operatively connected to said upper arm portion, a discharge receiving member, and coacting means on said arm and guideway operable when said power means acts to move said arm in one direction along said guideway for swinging said container through an upward are passing through the falling stream of material and sequentially extending said container to discharge position over said member, and means automatically operated when the container has reached said discharge position for effecting discharge therefrom of the collected sample material into said member.

4. in the apparatus defined in claim 3, said guideway comprising at least two angularly related portions along which said upper arm portion is slidable, said swinging movement of the container being effected as the pper arm portion slides along both of said sections, and said movement of the container to extended discharge position being effected as the upper arm portion slides along one of said sections.

5. In the apparatus defined in claim 4, said one guideway section being linear and said power means being connected to act only in a direction parallel to said linear guideway section, said arm having slide pivot movement along the other guideway section during said swinging movement of the container.

6. For sampling bulk material as it falls in a stream, apparatus comprising a pair of spaced arms, a sample container mounted between adjacent ends of said arms, longitudinally spaced rollers journalled in said arms adjacent the other ends thereof, a guideway for the rollers of each arm, hydraulic ram means pivotally connected to said arms for applying linear motion thereto, a linear portion of said guideway, an angled portion of said guideway for transforming a part of the linear motion applied to said arms into arcuate movement of said sample container, said hydraulic ram means serving for effecting movement of said sample container through the material stream for collecting a sample of material therefrom, and means for effecting discharge from said container of said material collected as sample at a position at substantially a higher level than the collecting position and at one end of linear movement of said sample container controllable by said linear portion of said guideway and said hydraulic ram means, whereby material surplus to sampling requirements can be returned by gravity to the main material stream.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 704,853 Bretherton July 19, 1903 946,744 Van Mater Jan. 18, 1910 2,495,944 Pletta Jan. 31, 1950 2,682,178 Powell June 29, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS 934,203 Germany Oct. 13, 1955 

